Club sites - advance booking system
Hi all, I'm sure this has been discussed before but here goes...
We normally use CLs as we like the peace & quiet and are happy to use our onboard shower and toilet etc., but on a certain weekend towards the end of June we want to visit Castleton in the Peak District. There are no CLs in the village, leaving the Club site as the only option.
Looking online I see that no pitches are available for that weekend, or indeed for most weekends!
Now I have no problem if everyone who has booked actually turns up - good for them for planning ahead - but with the current system there is nothing to stop people making a large number of advance bookings, then cancelling right up to 72 hours before. I can't wait that late - if the site is going to be full, we will want to book a B&B or hotel instead.
Would it not be a better idea for all pre-bookings to require a deposit of say £5 or £10 per night (more for the most popular sites, e.g. near London), refundable where there is a genuine reason for cancellation? I believe a similar system may be operated by the Camping & Caravanning Club and this would surely deter people from making advance bookings when they haven't really decided whether or not they will be going!
It would be helpful to know how many pitches are booked and then cancelled before the 72 hour deadline, just to give an idea of how much of a problem this really is. Perhaps the Club could make some figures available.
Just to repeat, I have no problem with the site showing as full if all those who have pre-booked actually show up (give or take the odd one or two with genuine reasons for cancellation).
What do others think?
Comments
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Deposits? How come that’s not been mentioned before?
There’s no doubt in my mind that a fiver will make such a difference to people showing up.
I think you simply have to assume that those who’ve booked will show up, Ask.
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The Club has now changed the booking system (still no deposit) in the hope of making it fairer, details on the website, so if I've read it right if your 2 week stay spans from July into august you book your pitch for July then wait to book your second week in August
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If you secure a booking, Ask, can you categorically state beyond all shadow of doubt that you will not cancel?
Are you certain you won’t be ill, your car won’t break down, we won’t have a terrific storm...... There are no certainties and I’m afraid taking deposits, or knowing what happened last year, will not help you.
The club does not measure the cancellation rate outside of the 72 hour limit. As they said themselves, why would they? If the cancellation period was changed to a week, people would still ask how many cancelled 8 days before. It would be a pointless exercise to record the number of cancellations prior to cut off.
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Metheven, perhaps rather than making fun of my capitalisation, you might consider and respond to the serious point I have tried to make. I think it's a real problem if the availability calendar is wildly inaccurate because of people booking early and then cancelling nearer the date.
People who need to go on specific dates will do as you as you have suggested I do, and book a B&B instead. Not everyone wants, or is able, to keep logging on to see if a pitch has become available, and leave booking until the last minute.
And if people are booking B&Bs when they would rather have booked pitches on a Club site, they may decide it's not worth being members at all, and that's not good for our Club!
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“.....availability calendar is wildly inaccurate because of people booking early and then cancelling nearer the date.”
Ask, what proof do you have of this? It’s no more than speculation.
I think you have to be realistic and accept that others have got there before you and booked the dates you want.
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Then you give an answer that would work, a small deposit means nothing to someone who has a genuine reason for cancelling last minute. Probably the cancellation is far more important than the fiver or whatever.
There is no practical answer that would suit all if a particular site is important, that would be why a B&B, a nearby CL or somewhere apart from this Club would be the answer. Do you think the Club has not given thought to this and decided how it is, best serves their membership.
As said, historical figures will not help for this year at all, this country has many many touring people and even less site availability. It's how it is on our small island so for important times look for a solid alternative.
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Ask66
I am not sure how long you have been a member but before we had the computerised booking system deposits were indeed taken and of the level you mention in your original post. Deposits were abolished for two reasons. Firstly at that low rate (£5 and £10) many people were happy to lose that deposit but the real problem was that they didn't inform the campsite so everyone lost out. Another reason why it wasn't carried over when internet booking started was because of a software difference between what was used at HQ and what was used at the campsites. I am sure this has long be sorted out. People often make assumptions when they find a site fully booked online. The information given out by the Club is that the bulk booking of pitches and later cancellations does not seem to be a major issue. People have to cancel within 72 hours of the their site arrival day. So they would have to cancel on the Tuesday if arriving on the Friday. This usually gives plenty of time for the pitch to be rebooked. Your difficulty, as I understand it, is that you need certainty rather than possibility? Unfortunately the system can't offer that unless you book months ahead.
David
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Tinwheeler, no, of course I can't categorically state that I will not cancel. The situations you mention, depending on their seriousness, may well count as genuine circumstances, and they would not be expected to happen to any given member too often.
I'm sure the Club does measure the cancellation rate outside the 72 hour limit - for the reasons I have mentioned, it matters very much to members (or at least one member - me!)
I often book Ryanair flights in advance - always of course paying in full at the time of booking. Can you imagine how the system would work if there was no cost involved in advance "booking", and you could cancel without penalty up to 72 hours before travel? I imagine it would be chaotic. What's the difference?
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Hi David, thanks for your post. No, I joined in around 2009 so don't remember the previous system. Obviously no-shows would be a serious problem, and I would hope that persistent no-shows would be asked to leave the Club very quickly. As I said in my original post, if all the people who have booked the site actually turn up on the weekend I wanted, then good for them - they got in before me and I hope they enjoy their stay. But I would be unhappy if a significant number of people are "playing" the system and will cancel - not for "genuine" reasons - right up to the 72 hour deadline. I guess the Club may be happy with the 72 hour deadline as it does give a reasonable time-frame for the pitch to be rebooked, but individual members may be unhappy for the reasons I have mentioned. And as I have said, if members are unhappy, they many decide the Club is not for them - which would be a pity.
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You cannot categorically state you will not cancel so what is so different when others cancel? All of us have genuine reasons at times.
The club has said it does not measure cancellations outside of the 72 hour deadline. You’re sure that it does. Oh well, that settles it then - you have superior knowledge and the club tells lies.
I suggest you read what the moderator has written and take that on board along with the other points we have all made as you seem unwilling to accept the realities of the situation.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other things to do.
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Apologies - instead of:
"I'm sure the Club does measure the cancellation rate outside the 72 hour limit"
I should have said:
"I hope the Club does measure the cancellation rate outside the 72 hour limit"
It seems to me to be one of the things a professionally-run organisation should be doing, and fairly simple to program into the system.
I do think we as members ought to be encouraged to question the system, highlighting potential problems with it and suggesting solutions.
I don't feel very encouraged at the moment!
I'll pop back later on and see how the discussion is progressing...
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That's going to be a bit like plaiting fog I am afraid. We have been members for 30 + years, in all that time, we had never cancelled a Club Site very close to arrival date. However, last 12 months have been a nightmare. OH was taken seriously I'll couple of days before we due to set off. I rang Site as soon as I could ( they were excellent). But you can't plan or know such will occur. Deposits of a few pounds make no difference to such occurrences.
As for booking specific dates, despite all we are going through, we have an event booked at York RP and our fingers are crossed we will get there. I logged on for first time ever on Frenzy Day and very easily got what I needed.
On the plus side, allow me to recommend The Nags Head Inn, slap bang in the middle of Castleton, and very nice. There's lots of other places to stay not far away as well, including Scotsman Pack Inn at Hathersage.
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It's best to stop obsessing about getting in to honeypot Club sites. Things won't change in my lifetime. In this particular case I would go to Laneside Caravan Park at Hope village and drive or take the bus into Castleton. What is it ? Two miles ?
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Or do what I have just done, and take a look on UKcampsites. I quickly found over 10 sites listed as being in Hope Valley area. Some are large, some are small, there appear to be reviews on each example.
There are four sites on the Club network that are notorious for being ultra busy, booked up very quickly, Castleton is unfortunately one of them. When I cancelled at York, our three nights were gone within hours of me phoning, according to the website. On the other side of the coin, we have not infrequently got a booking through a late cancellation, so have also benefitted from system.
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Thanks for the tip, eurotraveller. Yes, that's what we would normally do, but on this occasion we want to be right in Castleton - evening pub meals and a few drinks are planned.
I hope I'm not obsessing about Club sites though! If there were any CLs in Castleton, I would be delighted to use them instead!
On the subject of improving booking systems though - another idea which would just require some simple programming - if a site is showing as full, you could join a "queue" so that if a cancellation is made, the first person in the queue is contacted. Sounds a nightmare on paper, but dead easy for a computer to do!
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Don't we wish Ask! The Club's computer system is not bad at basic stuff, but doesnt raise the bar high for coping with anything too fancy!
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Yes, popular sites do get booked up early and a few people will cancel for very good reasons (illness, problems with outfit, weather conditions etc) nearer their booked time but this is what happens in life. Even hotels in popular areas get fully booked. It may be frustrating but hey, not worth getting worked up about. You may have booked your stay back in December and it might subsequently get cancelled in which case you would be in the same position as those you choose to be frustrated with. Swings and roundabouts. We have all been disappointed at some time in not being able to get what we want but as is said in many other comments, deposits wouldn't solve the problem.
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